Keep Breathing
by Queen Of Gabb 488
Summary: The Halliwells love with every piece of their heart and soul, though fate often has other plans for them. Some have sacrificed their love, others have elevated their loves so much that it has changed their entire destiny, while still others have killed their love. How will the next great Halliwell love story end, and more importantly, how did it start?
1. Chapter 1

Melinda brushed back her hair behind both ears. She wondered if she looked different, God knew she felt different. Turning from side to side, the teenager observed every detail of her face and body and wondered if the changes she saw were all in her head.

Pondering the significance of the night's events, the brunette jumped at the pounding on the bathroom door. "Jeez, Mel," Chris said as they brushed past each other; her leaving the restroom while he crept in, Mel hurried down the hall to avoid any possibility of her older brother discovering her secret.

Staring after her for just one moment, Chris shook his head shaking off his paranoia for the only time ever. "It's gotta be a girl thing," he mumbled and slammed the door shut.

In her bedroom, Mel stood in front of her vanity mirror; her excitement wearing off as she thought about what would happen if her mother and father could tell what she had done. Pulling her long straight locks back into a messy ponytail, her bangs haphazardly falling in her eyes, she pulled on a hoodie and changed into oversized sweats hoping that no one would notice anything.

"Mel! Dinnner is ready," her mom called up the stairs and the teen wiped off the last traces of lip gloss and tossed the tissue in her waste basket. "Coming," she yelled down as she dragged her feet.

Wyatt was home from college for spring break and was spending a lot of time with Chris as the middle child prepared to graduate and get ready to leave for school in New York. "Hey, kiddo. How was the movie?"

"Fine. I mean, for a remake of a remake."

"What's wrong with you," Chris said as he sneak attacked and stole Melinda's seat right from under her. Moving around him to sit closest to her mother, she thought she might actually be able to get through dinner without having a complete panic attack.

"Mel," Leo said as he helped Piper bring in the casseroles, "are you ready for tomorrow?"

"Yeah, Daddy. Thank you for taking me to my test."

"In one day our little Melinda will have her permit. I still can't believe it," Piper smiled wistfully. Chris would be off to school in a couple of months and Melinda was starting to think about her future after high school. It thrilled Piper to no end that her children had lives outside of magic and she was proud of each and every one of them.

"Are you still saving up for a car," Wyatt asked.

"Well, I kind of already bought one," the youngest child said and each member turned to look at her in surprise. "Old Mrs. Banks has this vintage VW Bug in a pale ice blue color and she offered to gift it to me if I would work for her while I'm still in high school."

"Mel, that's a very nice offer but I'm afraid it's taking advantage of our neighbor," Piper said. "How can you be sure that you will want to work for her for the next two years?"

"Well, she said that after a year I wouldn't be obligated to continue but she's offered to teach me everything she knows about literature and she's got contacts in the publishing world," the girl said. "She sent one of my short stories to her son and he seems to think that it might be good for the young adult audience."

"Wow, you're getting published? Good job, kiddo," Wyatt reached over to pat her on the head while Chris just grinned.

"When you become rich I'm expecting you to keep me in the life to which I want to become accustomed," the middle child joked and his father cuffed him lightly on the head.

"That's a great opportunity, Mel, but I don't want you to depend on something that isn't guaranteed. Besides," Piper looked to Leo for support, "it's an older car and the parts are hard to find especially since its foreign. What will you do when the car breaks down?"

"Dad's a mechanic," Chris interrupted and received sharp looks from his parents. "Jeez, I'm just trying to help my little sister," he said.

"I think it's great," Wyatt said. "I mean, you're responsible and you have a job and a great future ahead of you and that car has a lot of character. I didn't know that you knew how to drive stick," he added on a side note.

"Daddy taught me on his old ford," she said and Chris and Wyatt shoved their seats back and dropped their forks.

"Are you _kidding _me?" and "You _refused _ to teach me!" came screaming from their lips and Leo had the god grace to look sheepish.

"I will teach you boys, but girls mature faster and she's my little girl," he said smiling at the fifteen year old. "I have to make sure she's prepared for everything."

Dinner ended and Melinda was just relieved that her secret was still intact. That no one had noticed was only slightly upsetting ; sure, it would be nice to finally be recognized as a woman and an adult but at the same time she wasn't ready for the others to know about that part of her life.

Now that she thought about it, it was exciting to be the only one to know, other than Luke. Thinking of Luke, she could help the giddy smile the plastered across her face as she released her ponytail and took off her oversized clothes for more feminine sleeping attire. Ingrid Michaelson was playing in the background and she moved to the window seat where she curled up and looked at the stars.

Today, she was more than just a Halliwell witch.


	2. Maybe

**A/N:** So, I don't know when it happened but I decided that this story is going to be set to Ingrid Michaelson songs. I mean, she did influence the title of the story and it seems fitting. I'll name each of the chapters after the song I borrow the lyrics from so if you want to then you can listen as you read it.

The chapters will jump to different points and years in Melinda's life so don't be surprised by the sudden differences in her age.

* * *

I_ don't want to be the one to say goodbye, but I will, I will, I will…_

"What are you doing," he yelled. Luke followed her through the apartment as Melinda grabbed items off coffee tables and from book shelves.

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm taking what I can and getting out of here. I'm going back home to my mother," she expanded. Twisting, she leaned over to grab a photo frame that held a picture of her parents in front of the manor.

Luke grabbed her and turned her to face him. "Why are you doing this," he begged. The man hadn't shed tears since he was four years old but this felt like someone was putting a blade into his chest. "We talked about his; we're going to…"

"We're going to what," the nineteen year old asked. "Live in this tiny apartment while we both work ourselves to death so we can beat the odds and make our teenage marriage work?"

"I know what you're doing," Luke shook her. "You think if you leave that I'll go to Boston because you don't want me to regret not going in twenty years—"

Chuckling like a mad woman, Melinda wrenched herself free of him and pushed her hands up to her temple before running them through her hair. "I love how you think this is about _you_," she yelled and pushed him away from her before throwing her bag over her shoulder. Turning around to yell at him one last time, Melinda yanked her wedding ring off and held it out to him. When he refused to take it she placed it on the table and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

"This isn't some old lifetime movie about a woman sacrificing her marriage for the sake of her husband. Do I hope you have a better life than this? Sure, because you will always be the first boy I fell in love with—but I fell in love with a boy and I'm not a fifteen year old girl. I want more than just sitting around in this apartment waiting for something to happen to me and being with you is just holding me back."

"I don't buy it," Luke said as he started to feel his panic dissipate as adrenaline kicked in. He had never been this angry before; never at Melinda but she had never lied to him before. "You're not doing this because you don't love me anymore, you're doing it—"

"Because _I want more_ than just _you_! I want to write, and meet people, and have a life where I'm not home making dinner after working at the doctor's office all day," Mel shouted. "If you don't want to go to Harvard then don't, but I cannot and will not do this anymore."

Luke followed her to the door and put his hand around her neck, dragging her to him as he kissed her so long and so hard that there was no air left to breathe; their teeth and tongues scraping together in a frenzy and Melinda had to force herself to push him away.

"Good luck," she whispered and ran down the stairs with a duffle over her shoulder as another tenant rushed past her.

* * *

Dropping the bag on her floor, Melinda pulled her hair back into a ponytail and traced items on that she had left behind on her vanity.

Her mother and father hadn't been happy to find out that their daughter had run off and eloped, especially when she had been offered a lucrative scholarship to NYU which she had turned down in favor of going to UCSF while working part time for a doctor's office. Now they would be upset when they realized that she had left her husband and come home without telling them first.

Hearing voices from downstairs, Melinda decided to get it over with and found her mother and aunts coming in with shopping bags. Hand on the rail, she made her grand entrance as she came down the stairwell and her aunt Paige was the first one to notice her.

"Hey, kiddo. Your mom didn't say you would be here?" Paige smiled and started pulling items out of bags and the dining room table became cluttered.

She hadn't cried when she had walked out on him, but now the tears she had been so happy hadn't made an appearance earlier came crashing down her cheeks and Paige and Phoebe rushed to her as Melinda sobbed and hiccupped. Each one put a hand on her shoulder and used the other to hold on to her wrists as they supported her weight, barely keeping her from crashing to the floor when Piper came out to investigate the commotion.

"What's going on," was the last thing Melinda could make out clearly though she knew her mother and aunts were trying to console her as her entire body was wracked with sobs.

_If you have the last hands that I want to hold, then I know I've got to let them go. _


	3. December baby

Heels clacked as the twenty-eight year old strode down the hall and was met by her executive assistant who held out a coffee and a manila folder.

"Here are the contracts for the two authors you're signing today along with the advancement checks you've been approved to give them for the first five chapters of their novels," Leanne said. "You have a brunch meeting with Mickey Dowd to discuss the plot development of her new science fiction series and a dinner meeting with Lucille Donovan."

Melinda stopped in her tracks, right in the doorway to her office and turned slowly, eyes closed before releasing the breath that had been held hostage. "Lucille Donovan? Founder of Donovan-Rothchild Publishing?"

Leanne nodded and said, "and your boss. She called—well, her assistant called—this morning and scheduled it. Apparently the matter is urgent and the only reason why I got it pushed back to dinner was because Mrs. Donovan wants Mickey Dowd signed before Declan & Black swoops in to spirit her away."

Mel pinched her fingers to her forehead as panic set in. "This is about Cook's novel getting less than stellar reviews, isn't it? I'm going to get fired," she said and rounded her desk to throw herself gracefully into her computer chair.

Melinda Halliwell had risen quickly in publishing, although she had put her dreams of publishing her own works on the backburner in order to get her foot in the door. It had helped that she had connections through old Mrs. Banks, whose son used to work with Lucille at HarperCollins publishing company together.

Her work had always been impeccable up until last month's release of Theodore Cook's _Lasting Impressions_, and though the book hadn't been a flop it still hadn't yielded the increase in followers to Cook's once popular series. Lucille expected more; _Melinda _expected more from herself.

Sitting there, in her sleek camel colored dress and matching pumps with black patent leather details, Melinda was the vision of a young, sexy professional ready to take on the world…with the exception of the frantic terror displayed on her face. Biting her finger, Melinda could care less about damaging her perfectly applied viper red lipstick.

Gaining her composure back, Mel leaned forward and opened her laptop before looking to her assistant. "Go get my dress from the drycleaner and cancel drinks with the Phaes, will you?"

Leanne began typing a message on her tablet. "Message sent to Phaedra and Phaenna," the tablet read in its robotic voice. "Done," she told Melinda. "Would you like me to reschedule with them while they're still in New York?"

"Please," Mel said and drank her coffee. "I know Phaedra leaves for Chicago in three days and Phaenna has to get back to work on her fashion line before its release. I'd like to see them at least once before Christmas."

"Speaking of which," Leanne said, "I booked your flight back to San Francisco. Only three weeks until your mother's famous Christmas duck and eggnog."

"Don't worry," Mel smiled. "Mom already sent some eggnog for you. She asked for your address last week."

Leanne glanced at the ceiling and whispered 'thank you.' "Your mom is the best—but if you tell my mother I said that I will deny it until the day I die," she pointed at her friend and boss.

Mel laughed. "Just go get my dress. I'm going to start putting together potential new projects to sell Lucille on."

"Does that include any of your stuff," her friend wondered.

Leaning over her laptop, her head lifted to glare at her friend. "March," she pointed to the door and her assistant left. After a moment, she stood up straight and walked over to a filing cabinet where she kept her writing.

It didn't matter how sophisticated technology continued to get, publishers and editors still loved the feel of paper in their hands especially when making notes. She looked for her most recent book and when she couldn't find it, figured she must have left it at home when she was working on it and grabbed the very first novel she had finished. Maybe this was her chance.

* * *

"I'm glad I wore my winter jacket to the airport," Melinda shook some of the winter snow off her coat. "I didn't expect it to be snowing in San Francisco."

Wyatt laughed and swung his sister's duffel over his shoulder. "Right? I don't think it's snowed here in close to fifteen years. The kids are ecstatic!"

"Speaking of kids—where's Chris? I thought he was supposed to pick me up."

"Well, it seems our dear brother is going to have a December baby. Bianca went into labor a few hours ago."

She smacked him on the arm and her mouth dropped. "I'm going to be an aunt again? Why didn't anyone call me?"

"Everyone's getting ready for the birth and with everything going on I barely made it here to get you on time," he laughed. "Mom ruined the batch of cookies she was working on when Bianca's water broke."

They walked through the parking garage and made it to a dark corner before orbing to the Manor.

Christmas was in full force. Just two days before Christmas and the Manor was decked out with decorations and cookies. The cousins were sitting around drinking and listening to music while the kids played and the aunts hung out in the kitchen.

The doors open and everyone burst forward to meet Melinda, exchanging hugs and kisses. Her niece ran forward and Mel dropped down to pick her up. The two year old had beautiful platinum blonde hair and jade green eyes on a heart shaped face. "Hi, Pearl," she cooed. "Are you excited?"

"I get a cousin soon," the little girl said. "I want a girl!"

Everybody laughed and Wyatt reached over and took his daughter. "Has anyone heard anything about Bianca," he asked.

"It's going to be a couple of hours," Hannah said and kissed her husband. "We might have a Christmas Eve baby on the way. I think the baby will probably come closer to the morning. Good thing we're not on call for the next couple of days."

After talking with the Phaes, Melinda made her way to the kitchen where her mother and aunts were racing around to fill baskets with baby layettes and gifts. One basket held baby mementos like a silver hairbrush and antique mirror, a silver piggy bank and birth certificate holder along with a handmade baby book and a photo frame that would eventually hold the baby's first picture.

In another were tons of quilts and blankets, little crocheted outfits and booties along with a velveteen rabbit. Her mother and aunts—though, mostly her mother—had outdone themselves with their crafting and in the third basket were tons of baby clothes.

"Does this mean what I think it means," Mel asked. "Is Chris having a girl?"

Piper turned to see her only daughter there and walked up to hug her. "Oh, honey it's so good to have you home," she said and turned back to finish the baskets. "And yes, you're going to have another niece, although Bianca and Chris haven't told anyone else and we've had to kick everyone else out before they see these."

"Okay," she drawled, "but then why am I allowed in here?"

"Well," Paige said getting up to steal a cookie, "you _are_ the baby's god mother," she said and Melinda's breath got stuck in her belly.

"Seriously? Oh, where is that little booger," she cried and turned to go find her brother.

Racing up the steps, she made her way to the guest room where Chris and Bianca were staying. Knocking, she peeked her head in and saw Bianca throwing a teddy bear at Chris's head. "Stop telling me to focus on that dumb thing," she yelled at him.

"Hey, guys. How's it going?" She walked in and Bianca grabbed her hand.

"Tell your brother to go downstairs and hang out with the men. I can't take this anymore. Every time I have the smallest contraction it's, 'focus on the bear' and 'breathe.' But I don't want to!"

"Chris," Mel said and her older brother was nodding his head and leaving. Turning to her sister-in law, she took Bianca's hand and smiled. "How's my niece?"

"She's a slow mover, I'll tell you that. The contractions are still ten minutes apart and Hannah told me to expect another six or eight hours of this. Thank the lord for Paige," she said. "She keeps sneaking me herbs for the pain and to help the labor progress. Hopefully they'll work soon."

"Anything I can get for you?"

"Something chocolate," Bianca asked. "And maybe send up some of the girls to keep Chris out of here and me distracted."

"Okay. I'll send up the Phaes."

"Thank you!"

Melinda walked down the stairs and went straight through the foyer to the conservatory where the Phaes were laughing and drinking Christmas cocktails. In a simple v-neck sweater, sleeves pushed up and hands in her dark denim trouser pants, Melinda was the image of pure beauty and her cousins smiled and called her over.

Phaedra and Phaenna were two years younger than Melinda, and the identical twin daughters of Henry and Paige. Like Melinda, the two girls had settled into highly professional careers and were excelling. Phaenna had been featured in fashion week in Bryant park and was gaining popularity as a top designer, while Phaedra worked as a television producer in Chicago.

Laughing and giggling, the two sisters and best friends glowed and Mel climbed in between them, wrapping her arms around their shoulders and kissing their cheeks before stealing Phaedra's drink and downing it.

"Hey!" Laughing, Phaedra patted her cousin's leg. "What's up?"

"Your presence is required in the birthing room. Bee kicked Chris out and wants a layer of companions to keep him from entering the premises. Apparently he's annoying the hell out of her."

Rising, the girls got up and made their way to Bianca. "Hey," Phaenna said and climbed into bed with Bee, who laughed at the antics.

"Thank the _Lord_," the older woman said. "I thought it was Chris coming back up the stairs and I was about to throw something at the door!"

"Ah, so in love they are," Phaedra joked and sat in the rocking chair next to the bed. Picking up a teddy bear, she held it in front of her face. "When are you going to give munchkin a little brother or sister?"

"Oh, _God,_" Mel said and ripped the teddy bear away from her cousin. "They haven't even gotten the first one out. Give them some time, please."

"I'm too old to do this again," Bianca said. "I'm thirty-four now, and if we wait for this one to be potty trained before we have another I'll be thirty-seven. I don't want to be one of those forty year old women who pops out another kid," she freaked out.

"Woah! You are not too old," Phaenna said and grabbed her hand, kissing it and cuddling. "Besides, maybe you'll get lucky and have twins next time. Two for the price of one! Worked for mom," she said.

"Look how well that turned out," she said before another contraction hit and she dug her nails into Phaenna's hands. "This one's really bad," Bianca yelled and Mel ran for the door.

"Hannah! Get up here, _now_!"

* * *

Hannah stepped into the hallway. It had been three hours since Bianca's contractions progressed and it was time. "You can come in now, Chris. We're ready for you," and the anxious father walked in, striding right to his wife and kissing her on the head.

"Bianca, lean forward and let Chris sit behind you so that he can support you while you push," Hannah said. "Phaes, I think it's time for you to go and tell the aunts we're ready up here."

"I'm going to go help mom," Mel said and Bee grabbed her hand.

"Please stay. You're the only sister I have," she said and Mel's heart warmed. There had always been a kinship between the two girls, even when Chris had started dating her and the whole family was torn about having a phoenix around. Not Mel.

She had seen the way he looked at her when they first met. The tension could be cut with a knife as the two looked at each other, not knowing whether to kill one another or jump them. Mel also recognized the chemistry between them for what it really was…true love. Something she had claimed once a long, long time ago_. __How can I catch up when I don't don't want to? __How can I catch up when I still want you? __You have had your fill your fill of me. _How could she not embrace the person who inspired that in her older brother?

Hannah lifted the flat sheet to expose Bianca's legs. "It's time to push."

_December baby, you are my; December baby, you are mine. _


	4. Black and Blue

Melinda clung to her bed sheets, curled up on her side; her long, mahogany locks thrown behind her as she sobbed into her sheets.

_Oh I think I got you figured out; boy I think I know what you are all about . Finally I can finally see you pull the darkness right down over me  
but now I see. _

_Everybody knows that I'm a mess; everybody knows you stole the heart from out my chest. Everything you ever said was a lie,  
you're hiding behind your sweet your sweet goodbyes._

_I'm black and blue 'cause I fell for you. You said you never would let me go; oh how could I ever know_

It was only three days ago that she had left her husband and come home and since then she had been holed up in her room while her entire family tried to figure out what was going on.

The aunts had held her on the stair case, her mother had rocked her back and forth and finally Paige had orbed her to bed when Melinda had fallen asleep from crying so much. Piper left food at the door for her, though Mel had yet to eat anything she had brought; and Phoebe held the family at bay, knowing from her empathy that the girl needed desperately to grieve on her own.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. They were going to grow old together and have three kids, since that seemed to be the magic number in the Halliwell family. _Magic,_ she thought bitterly, _that's where it all went wrong. _In her entire life, Melinda had never blamed magic for anything but god how she was blaming it now. _Why _had she seen what she saw?

* * *

Chris didn't hesitate, he didn't knock, and he didn't listen to his parents' and aunts' protests when he barged into Melinda's room, where Ingrid Michaelson was blasting out the world. Closing the door behind him, he moved over to the rocking chair next to Mel's bedside while she scrambled into a sitting position.

"I don't want to talk about it, Chris," she sniffled and blew her nose.

"That's good, because I came here to feed you," Chris put the tray he was balancing on the bed and sat down across from her. "Open," he said to his blubbering sister and when she went to protest he stuck a fork full of mashed potatoes and gravy. "Carbs are great for breakups," he said and she laughed through her mouthful of food and loaded up another forkful.

* * *

Staring at her reflection, Mel combed her hair with an antique silver brush that had once belonged to her aunt Prue, whom she was named after—though she went by her middle name.

She was very somber, her eyes devoid of any emotions as her hand swept back and forth brushing her hair as she listened to Luke's voice on her messages…again. He was breaking her heart all over again, like he had ripped it straight from her chest.

"Mel, call me back," he muttered through grinding teeth. "This isn't over; I'm not going to just let you destroy our marriage."

"Next saved message," the machine said, "saved at 8:41pm on…" it droned on.

"Melinda, just come home," he begged and she could hear him crying. "We can work this out. If you want me to go to Boston so much then come with me. There are tons of opportunities for you, too," he managed before getting cut off.

"Why are you doing this," his voice trembled as his deep voice betrayed him. He was calm; too calm. Luke had left this message after banging on the Manor doors for nearly two hours, crying as he yelled for her to come down and face him. Melinda had stayed locked away behind her bedroom door as Wyatt and Chris dealt with him. "We were meant to be," he said, gaining back some of the strength in his voice before hanging up on her.

* * *

Coming down for breakfast, Melinda stopped at the sudden silence to find everyone looking at her.

Every Sunday all three families gathered for brunch and it seemed as if everyone had come over. Wyatt pulled the seat next to him out and Mel walked over before grabbing a tray of fruit. It was her first meal with other people since Chris had spoon fed her almost a week earlier.

* * *

Luke hadn't gone back to the apartment in almost two days. The first week since she had walked out on him had been spent either trying to find a way to get her back, or lying in bed holding onto her pillow.

Melinda had always worn this one perfume, a memento that her mother clung to after the death of the eldest Halliwell sister; Prudence. She had told him once that her mother and aunts had lost their mother when they were little and Prue, being the oldest and having the most time with their mother, always remembered the way she had smelled of sandal wood.

Now, a week into their separation, Luke had stopped finding comfort in her smell and started seeking numbness in scotch; two fingers, no rocks. He had only just turned twenty-two years old, and already his life was falling apart around him. Throwing down some cash, he threw his leather jacket on and made his way back to his motel room.

Like most, the room was bland and had no personality and Luke gave thanks that he wasn't surrounded by belongings that reminded him of her. Undressing, he moved around in the dark and climbed into bed. Tomorrow he would go home to his parents and file for divorce.

* * *

Mel helped her mother in the kitchen as they prepared dinner and waited for Wyatt to appear with his new girlfriend, Hannah. Instead of going all out like the chef would love to do, she thought of Wyatt and planned a casual summer picnic that they would enjoy outside on the patio.

It was what anyone else would call a beautiful day; the sun gleamed in through the open doors of the sunroom and Piper's garden was in full bloom. Melinda didn't notice any of it as she arranged a vase to put on the patio table when the bell rang.

Leo and Chris were talking sports and Mel didn't want to stop her mother in the middle of preparing the food, so she wiped her hands on her jeans and short sleeve tee shirt before making her way from the kitchen to the front door.

"Hello," she said confused. "May I help you?"

"Are you Prudence Melinda Halliwell," the young man on the other side of the Manor doors asked.

"Yeah. What's this about?"

"You've been served," he told her and handed the papers to her before skipping down the steps and getting into his car.

Piper came up behind her daughter as Mel pushed the door shut. "Who was that?"

"It was a process server," she chuckled in a way that betrayed whatever humor was supposed to be there, "to deliver divorce papers. Apparently Luke got to it first."

"Oh, honey. Are you alright," Piper said hugging her youngest child. "I'm sure Wyatt won't mind if you don't want to have dinner with us—"

"No, mom. This is Wyatt's big night, and I should have seen this coming. It's been two weeks and I haven't done anything I need to in order to end things—legally, that is."

Piper didn't want to push her daughter. She knew exactly how far she could go with each one of her children and this was not a line she could cross. Though she had been wary of Mel's elopement, Piper had realized that it wasn't something she could or should get in the way of, no matter how angry and upset she was to see her sixteen year old daughter married and out of the house.

They had celebrated their marriage a year later by having a ceremony at the house and throwing a small reception at the Manor and now, just three short years after eloping, her daughter was hurting in a way that Piper had once ached for Leo. It bothered her that no one had been able to get anything out of Melinda, and the mother in her knew there was something more to the situation than just wanting different things. The only thing she was glad for was that there were no children, but she had been so sure that Melinda had found the one.

Now, as she focused on preparing yet another "meet the family" dinner for another one of Wyatt's girlfriends who probably wouldn't be around much longer, she prayed that one day Melinda would be able to move on and find a love that would last.

_Everybody knows that I'm a mess; everybody knows you stole the heart from out my chest. Everything you ever said was a lie,  
you're hiding behind your sweet your sweet goodbyes._

_I'm black and blue 'cause I fell for you. You said you never would let me go; oh how could I ever know_


End file.
